Financial aid & tuition reimbursement question...

[ReggaeRN]

I received federal loans after completing a FAFSA, something that completely impacted my ability to go back to school.

My employer offers tuition reimbursement, but their process is somewhat backwards (and probably common): you take the class, pay for the class, and they reimburse you if you receive a C or better.

So a few reasons why tuition reimbursement alone was not enough:

1. I can't afford to write a check for several thousand dollars, even with the confidence that I will pass all classes with flying colors.

2. The amount of money that the hospital gives annually as a maximum for tuition reimbursement does not come close to covering a year of tuition.

So my dilemma... I did not initially plan to apply for tuition reimbursement through the hospital I work at because of the fact that the amount is not very substantial compared to what my tuition will be. Now, I decided to apply because I thought I could apply the money to my student loans.

I have read on the FAFSA site about being "honest" in your FAFSA application, and so I am concerned this is going to come back to bite me if I accept the tuition reimbursement from my employer. I really don't want to screw myself or GOD forbid end up with fines or other legal issues!

I also don't want to screw myself in that, if I take tuition reimbursement from my employer (which is basically a loan, conditional on the fact that you work there 1 year after receiving the reimbursement), it may decrease the amount of money I am allotted for federal student loans.

ANYONE have any advice here? I have not received any tuition reimbursement as of yet, and I want to make sure I make the best decision here. Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

You are not going to get in trouble. Even if you get a reimbursement there is nothing about applying for student aid that will come back to "bite" you. You need the money upfront to pay your tuition to take the class. If you get a reimbursement from work then you can apply it to your loans. You are also not guaranteed the tuition reimbursement either. Your company may just decide to do it away with it one day and you would get no money.

Of course your company's tuition reimbursement is not close to tuition. With the price of higher education it would cost them A LOT of money to foot that kind of bill.

The way I see it you only have two options:

1.Take less classes that would allow you to use the tuition reimbursement and decrease your out of pocket costs

2. Take the federal aid and take your classes, then when you get the reimbursement you can apply that money toward your loans.

My advice would be to just take the loans and then apply your reimbursement to them after you complete the classes.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

If you were receiving grants it would be a different issue. But using tuition reimbursement to basically pay off your loan payment it is a different story.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

A google search turned up multiple, multiple websites of the financial aid offices of various colleges/universities cautioning that employer tuition reimbursement programs are considered financial resources. Suggest you contact your school's financial aid office to see if you can amend the FAFSA you filed, reflecting this information.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

you can easily amend your FAFSA online at fafsa.gov, it will automatically be resent to the same schools the original was sent to with the changes highlighted.